Quickstart guide
01. VOLUME
02. TONE
03. DRIVE
04. VMN MODE
05. HI/LO MODE
06. 12AX7
07. 12AX7
08. BYPASS
09. INPUT
10. POWER
11. OUTPUT
01. VOLUME
Set to match the bypassed output level, it can offer an extra boost to overdrive the amplifier early stages. This will encourage a creamy, biting and beautifully compressed tone out of your amp.
For better results, lower the amp gain halfway, to avoid blocking distortion in late stages.
If you drive other digital pedals, set the volume to avoid clipping and overload.
02. TONE
Set midway for a balanced response, this knob offers control over brightness, taming the excess of treble produced by extreme gain setting and bright pickups.
The need for treble may vary considerably from practicing alone, where they tend to sound piercing, to playing in-the-band, where they help cutting through the mix.
03. DRIVE
Meant to be a lead sounding pedal when fully cranked up, it can achieve very subtle levels of gain on vintage and single-coil pickups, producing a cleaner articulate tone, inspiring fat neck licks, jazzy runs or simply beefing your amp lead channel up during solos.
04. VMN MODE
This switch toggles between three voicing modes:
V = Scooped mids
sharpening exuberant “midrangey” pickups and adding detail when phrasing aggressive, articulate riffs
M = Mids boost
fueling mellow and creamy biting solos
N = Neutral
setting a balanced voicing
05. HI/LO MODE
This switch toggles between two gain modes, expanding the range of DRIVE, therefore the instruments the pedal can work with, like bass and organ.
LO mode increases the overall headroom, making the pedal suitable for jazz guitar players running on the edge of breakup and inspiring blues licks with a fat, pushed clean.
06. 12AX7
A 12AX7/ECC83 is mandatory here, ensuring the correct tone response and delivering the right amount of output volume.
Any other noval valve like ECC82/12AU7 and 5751 is not suitable here.
07. 12AX7
The choice of a 12AX7/ECC83 maximizes harmonic content, articulation, compression and sustain in early stages, which are fundamental for guitars.
Other noval valves like 12AU7/ECC82 and 5751 are not recommended.
08. BYPASS
It toggles a true bypass, featuring a miniature relay.
09. INPUT
Instrument high impedance 1/4″ input jack.
10. POWER
The power inlet will take any audio-grade switching regulated wall-adapter rated 12VDC – 500mA, center positive. If unsure, check the symbol at the bottom of your wall power adapter. Here’s an example:
If your power adapter delivers more than 500mA, it’s absolutely fine. What matters is it delivers at least 500mA, otherwise the pedal won’t function.
If you plug the wrong power adapter in – more than 12V or inverted polarity – don’t worry, the pedal will go into protection and shut down, avoiding internal damage.
11. OUTPUT
Low impedance 1/4″ output jack, capable of driving amplifiers input, FX loops, slave and power amplifiers and line-level FX racks without any appreciable loss.